Thank-you for the opportunity to speak to this Budget. My Name is Jane Mercer and I’m speaking on behalf of the Toronto Coalition for Better Child Care, we represent over 20,000 families in our member centres and speak for thousands more who desperately need access to affordable, high quality child care.

Councillors YOU have told Torontonians again and again over the last term that you understand CHILD CARE is vital to our City – You have told us you understand young families will not be able to LIVE and WORK in this City without it . . . . that you understand that child care supports not only the workforce of today but our future workforce as well.

Your commitment has never been as strong as when. . . .

This Summer Toronto’s 10 year Child Care Growth Strategy – called for significant Investment from ALL 3 levels of government – and it was adopted by YOU, Council virtually unanimously 😊. . . We were so excited and thankful for the leadership you showed at such a critical time and we believe it was instrumental in bringing the Province and the Federal governments to the table.

Thanks to YOUR leadership . . . The Province and the Federal governments HAVE come to the table and they have come with $56 million for child care IN Toronto over 2017/2018 – and with the City’s commitment to match these $$ by 20% PARENTS knew that we would finally be growing MORE child Care space, MORE child care subsidies, and lowering Parent Fees!

So what Happened .???

In this Budget . . .There is NO NEW INVESTMENT from the CITY of Toronto . . . NONE of what COUNCIL committed to just a couple of months ago . . .

Now . . we don’t know exactly HOW this budget process works . . . We don’t fully understand What goes in to it at this stage and what doesn’t and Who makes those decisions . . . . it appears as though most of the Provincial $$ have been added in (but not all of them) . . . it appears as though funding for increase in City staff has been added in . . .

So . . . why was the promised INVESTMENT of City $$ to INCREASE subsidies and Lower Parent fees NOT added in? . . . In fact to our horror there is 1 million being CUT! From the net budget . . .

We’re SAVING money for the city on Child Care???

Again, I will concede we do NOT exactly understand how THIS budget made it to the table but PARENTS DO UNDERSTAND that it is their Councillors that make the FINAL decision –

And So we URGE you to KEEP your PROMISE to PARENTS TO INVEST in Child Care

We URGE YOU:

Make sure that EVERY Federal, Provincial and City Child Care dollar that has beencommitted - makes it’s way INTO this budget and . . . ALL the way through to delivering service on the frontline.

That means PUT IT DIRECTLY into:

Child care subsides for low income families

General Operating Funding to reduce Parent Fees and improve salaries

And Pay Child Care programs their TRUE and actual costs – because that Gap between Actual Costs and the Per Diems paid by the City – is One very big reason why Parents Fees keep going UP!